The counties of Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino, along with the Leave No Trace organization, have launched the Cleaner California Coast campaign. This summer’s launch took place in honor of World Oceans Day and is just in time for Plastic-Free July!
The Cleaner CA Coast’s vision is to empower people to create a cleaner and healthier coast by embracing the principles of Leave No Trace. Leave No Trace is an ethical framework encouraging visitors to minimize their impact on the natural environment, wildlife, and local communities, therefore ensuring the preservation of natural resources for future generations. By uniting the three counties, local organizations, businesses, and communities behind a shared purpose, the campaign ensures that individuals receive a clear and unified message regarding responsible recreation practices.
Over the past year, a dedicated working group consisting of representatives from Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties; Leave No Trace; Marin County Parks; Sonoma County Regional Parks; California State Parks; the National Park Service; federally recognized tribes; non-federally recognized tribes; Sonoma County Tourism; Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau; Visit Mendocino; the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin; and others worked to build a strategic plan to realize the vision, share resources, and lift the work of individuals and organizations who are already engaged in reducing trash and litter.
The first step of this campaign is to highlight four important actions visitors can take this summer including 1) bringing reusable items – and saying no to single-use plastics; 2) find a restroom – the side of the road is not a restroom; 3) pack out your trash – there are limited trash bins within coastal communities and beaches, please bring your trash home; and 4) hang on to your butts and vape cartridges– these are toxic pollutants and should not be left on the ground or on the beach.
Why EAC Supports this Work & Taking Lead Role
For decades, we have been running stewardship programs, trash clean ups, advocating for trash and pollution policies, and providing community education related to trash and pollution. While this work is necessary and important, without partnerships and coordination across our community, we are continuing to respond to the problem and not getting ahead of it. This campaign highlights the importance of the collective-impact model and how coordinated messaging and partnerships can make a difference to reduce trash and pollution.
We are thrilled to be part of this campaign and will have an important role as a fiscal sponsor of this campaign and partner with Leave No Trace to guide this effort. To support this work, we are proud to announce a new addition to our team, Madeline Nieto Hope, who will act as the three-county Program Coordinator. Madeline will focus on the goals and objectives of the pollution prevention project and work with the identified liaisons to align, engage, and ensure the success of the campaign’s goals and objectives. Our Communications Associate, Grace Milstein, will take on additional responsibilities as our Marin County Campaign Liasion working in partnership with Madeline focused on Marin’s unique community landscape. By leveraging our existing network and expertise in environmental conservation, we are able to help facilitate the development and implementation of this initiative. We recognize the importance of this work and envision its growth into an independent organization dedicated to promoting responsible recreation and visitation.
The Cleaner California Coast is collaborative and invites engagement from all sector partners, specifically, recognizing the valuable work and experience of nonprofit partners and programs already working to reduce trash and pollution. LNT will provide community education about the campaign, and how to get involved in the coming months. We will be working to build a coalition that disrupts pollution-generating behaviors with collective-impact that benefits the health of our coastal waterways.
With a clear vision to empower individuals to embrace Leave No Trace principles, the campaign sets out to reduce impacts on the environment, engage diverse audiences through consistent messaging, and uplift the efforts of existing partners.
Ways to Join the Movement!
This summer we will have multiple events where you can get involved!
Join EAC on July 15th at Drakes Beach to remove trash and plastic pollution from the beach
Save the Date! Grand Opening of EAC’s newest office display on July 29th 12 PM - 4 PM
Download our online Stewardship Guide to learn how you can reduce your impacts when visiting coastal Marin County.
